March 26, 1985
The Editor / Veritas

The Ministry of Human Settlements’ (MHS) Manuel U. Flores, Jr., blames Assemblyman Hernando Perez for the decline in public acceptance of the MHX (Veritas, Mar. 24).

He is wrong. The MHS was hated and ridiculed long before Mr. Perez came along with his accusations against Deputy Minister Jolly Benitez. Mr. Perez merely provided the information that confirmed our worst suspicions about the MHS.

If the MHS were in fact competent, that is, if its policies, strategies, and practices were professional and if its clients were in fact pleased with the services it provided, five thousand Perezes screaming accusations would have little effect on the credibility of MHS.

But instead of confronting the question of why the people are ready to believe the worst about the MHS, Mr. Flores dares Mr. Perez to file administrative, civil, or criminal charges against Mr. Benitez.

Mr. Flores’ put-up-or-shut-up attitude speaks volumes about what is wrong with the MHS: its bureaucrats believe that unless they are convicted of some crime, they must be presumed to be professional, competent, and successful.

QUIRINO TORRES